Personality Correlates of Nuclear War Threat Perception

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Abstract
The threat of nuclear war has been postulated to affect self-concept and other personality constructs. Because of understandable methodological difficulties in manipulating that threat, this descriptive study investigated the correlates of its perception. Respondents were introductory psychology students at a small college in the Pacific Northwest. Spontaneous concern and three additional direct measures were used to assess perception of the threat of nuclear war. The correlational relationships between these perceptions and selected personality traits were only marginally consistent with some of the expectations held by psychologists regarding the impact of the nuclear threat. The perception of the nuclear threat was significantly but minimally associated with lower general self-esteem, lower evaluations of one's emotional stability, lower self-control, and a lowered sense of well-being. Nuclear war threat perception, therefore, did not appear markedly to affect personality development.

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